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Newsstand: November 27, 2014
A new study by a Toronto ad agency finds that Canadians actually enjoy commuting. So when you’re cursing loudly and banging on your steering wheel because the 401 is at a standstill, remember that deep down you’re really having a good time. In the news: a new audit reveals security for the Pan Am Games is behind schedule and over budget, ticks carrying Lyme disease were found in Rouge Valley, and Presto cards are coming to new streetcars this weekend. Finally.
According to Ontario’s auditor general Bonnie Lysyk, there are looming concerns that the security budget for the Pan Am and Para Pan Am Games is too low and preparations are behind schedule. A special audit reveals that a private security contract awarded to Contemporary Security Canada was budgeted in 2013 to fall at $42 million; however, it was awarded at $81 million. Games organizers now estimate that the security budget has more than doubled from the originally estimated $121.9 million that was listed in Toronto’s Pan Am bid. Lysyk said that she did not believe there has been any intentional ploy to mislead people about security spending―it stems from an underestimate determined only when security planning began. Lysyk is also concerned that with nine months left before the games, organizing committee TO2015 has not yet secured the venue of play security, nor have procurements for security equipment been complete.
Toronto Public Health is warning the public that ticks in Rouge Valley have tested positive for bacteria that causes Lyme disease. Yesterday, health officials said that blacklegged ticks—the only type in Ontario that can carry the bacteria—had tested positive, meaning that the disease is likely becoming established in the previously low-risk area. While the risk of infection is greater in the summer months, officials are reminding people to cover up in long-sleeves and pants, and wear a bug spray containing DEET on exposed skin. Doing a full check of skin after activities in wooded areas is also advisable to detect any possible tick bites.
A month after the originally scheduled launch, Presto electronic fare cards are rolling out on the new Toronto Transit Commission streetcars this Sunday. There are only two new cars currently in service on Spadina, with plans for a third car to join the fleet next week after testing is complete. No explanation has been given for the delay of the Presto rollout, and no further information has been made available outlining when the system will be put in use on other TTC surface transit vehicles. Metrolinks spokesperson Anne Marie Aikins said only that the agency is working with the TTC on a schedule. This may go down as the most prolonged rollout of new technology most of us will ever see in our lifetimes.